# The Last Night explained — The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

> Chapter companion for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

## What happens

Utterson and Poole break into Jekyll's cabinet after hearing Hyde's footsteps, only to find Hyde dead by suicide. They discover a new will naming Utterson as beneficiary, a note from Jekyll directing him to read Lanyon's narrative and Jekyll's confession, and no trace of Jekyll himself.

## Themes in this chapter

### Duality of Human Nature

Hyde's death in Jekyll's clothes and the discovery of Jekyll's blasphemous annotations in a pious book highlight the struggle between good and evil within one person.

### Repression and Secrecy

Utterson's fear of reading Jekyll's note and the locked cabinet symbolize the secrets that have been repressed until this final revelation.

### Science and Ethics

The chemical experiments and the drug that enabled Hyde's transformations are central to the tragedy, raising questions about the ethical limits of scientific inquiry.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Utterson

Leads the forced entry into the cabinet, discovers Hyde's body and Jekyll's final documents.

### Poole

Assists Utterson, identifies the drug, and recounts hearing Hyde's footsteps and weeping.

### Mr. Edward Hyde

Found dead in the cabinet from self-poisoning, dressed in Jekyll's oversized clothes.

### Dr. Henry Jekyll

Absent; his note and confession are left for Utterson, indicating his disappearance.

### Bradshaw

Summoned by Utterson to guard the laboratory door during the break-in.

## Key lines

> This glass has seen some strange things, sir... And surely none stranger than itself... For what did Jekyll—what could Jekyll want with it?

Poole and Utterson marvel at the cheval-glass, suggesting it witnessed Jekyll's transformations.

_The mirror symbolizes the duality and self-deception central to Jekyll's experiments._

> We have come too late... whether to save or punish. Hyde is gone to his account; and it only remains for us to find the body of your master.

Utterson concludes that Hyde has died by suicide and that Jekyll's fate is still unknown.

_This marks the climax of the investigation, leading to the reading of the narratives._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_strange_case_of_dr_jekyll_and_mr_hyde_se/chapters/the-last-night
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_strange_case_of_dr_jekyll_and_mr_hyde_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_strange_case_of_dr_jekyll_and_mr_hyde_se/chapters